Former teacher leaves behind £7million to charity after gambling on the stock market

When our time comes to leave the earth, the majority of us want to be able to leave something behind. Whether it's a house for your children or some money for them to treat themselves with, we want to be able to look after those who looked after us during our lives. However, while the average Joe will be able to leave a fairly substantial amount to their loved ones, one teacher surprised everyone by the amount he was able to give back.

Grahame Pincock, 90, taught modern languages across a variety of schools across the Glasgow area. The former teacher lived in a modest £400,000 semi-detached house on the outskirts of the city and had spent some time as a principal of languages before he retired.

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However, while Grahame had a nice home and had no doubt earned a good amount of money throughout his career as a teacher, he left his neighbourhood stunned when it emerged that he had secretly built up a £7 million estate before he eventual death in May this year.

His will shows that the bulk of his estate was made up through an extensive portfolio of both stocks and shares. Records show that the teacher had amassed 101,786 shares in the drinks company Diageo, which are currently valued at £2,311,814.

Not done there, Pincock had also accumulated £216,000 of shares in the pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca as well as a further £40,000 in GlaxoSmithKline.

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The teacher had decided to be generous with his estate, with him ordering £10,000 to be sent to the war veterans charity Erskine and a further £10,000 to be sent to the Scottish War Blinded. Mr Pincock also asked that £25,000 of the estate was given to a small number of family and friends.

The remaining milli0ns of his substantial fortune has been placed in the Grahame Winnington Pincock Charitable Trust and will be used to treat and help those who are suffering from serious illnesses.

The trust has made several donations to various charities including Marie Curie Cancer Care and Cancer Research.

Mr Pincock's neighbours were shocked by the news regarding the teacher, who they claim was very "unassuming."

"Mr Pincock was a lovely man who probably had the best-kept hedge in Glasgow, that is how I’ll remember him and I’m shocked to hear he was a secret millionaire."

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Another added:

"He was always someone who would speak to you if he saw you and would always be out in the garden working away, I think this was just so he could meet people and talk to them. He was very unassuming and lived what appeared to be a very modest lifestyle and there were no airs or graces about him."

Ronald Nicolson, a former friend of Mr Pincock, said: "I first knew Grahame Pincock when he taught modern languages at Hillhead High School. Even among the many fine teachers, he stood out as a man of learning and of culture and was liked and respected in equal measure by his pupils."

It's a pretty incredible story and you've got to admire Pincock for not only keeping his millions a secret but also donating them to charity once his time was up.